Mawande Memela poised to return back to Generations.

Barely two weeks after Nambitha Mpumlwana (who plays Mawande in the soapie) was quoted in Drum magazine saying “I would not go back to Generations because I’ve done what I needed to do there,” now rumour has it that Nambitha is going back to Generations and “her script is ready.”

News of Nambitha’s untimely exit from the popular soapie first became the public’s knowledge on Sunday 21 April 2013. At the time, Generations’ heavyweight, Mfundi Vundla, was quoted in Sunday Sun newspaper saying “Mawande’s story has run its course” and Move! Magazine went further to quote Mfundi saying the character “had to be written off”.

But 10 months down the line, there is a change of tone with Mfundi singing a completely different tune. “Yes, it’s true that she is coming back” Mfundi confirmed Mawande’s return to the very newspaper he told in April 2013 that Mawande will be written off the Generations’ storyline.

Mawande’s exit from Generations’ was due to alleged prima donna antics (at least that’s the angle the media ran with) and that she was difficult to work with. “She was always a problem on set, arriving late and not prepared, which will inconvenience everyone,” one Generations actor who spoke to Sunday Sun on condition of anonymity was quoted as saying.

A diva returns back on Generations set.

Suppose all the rumours are anything to go by, that Nambitha demanded a star treatment, wanted her own dressing room, demanded her exclusive food menu, edit her own script to read the way she prefers it, order the directors which angle to take when filming her inter alia, the question is, what does her return to Generations mean to her follow actors and crew members?

It seems Mfundi has bitten more than he could chew by pleading with Nambitha to come to rescue Generations’ sinking boat. I want to argue that this move will Give Nambitha ammunitions to go around throwing her weight as she wishes knowing that she carries a lot of weight in the Generations’ corridors.

Let’s not even talk about the actors. I doubt there’ll be any director or producer that will tell Nambitha what to do.

Perhaps Nambitha is not a diva-think about it.

Now that I’ve given this subject a long thought, I think Nambitha’s diva tendencies are highly exaggerated in the media. I must make it clear that I’ve never met Nambitha in my life hence I can neither confirm nor deny the allegations but I can certainly report on those allegations.

Let me give you a brief scenario, I interviewed Kelly Khumalo last year in June. For those who may not know, Kelly is branded the super diva of the South African entertainment industry but when I met her, she showed no sign of divaness. She was so sweet to me and allow me to emphasize the words SO SWEET. She may be a diva, but not always.

There’s no one, in his or her right mind, Nambitha included, who can go around throwing their tantrum to the people who haven’t wronged them in any way.

Back to the main issue, Recently Drum magazine run an exposé whereby Generations actors were up in arms crying foul saying they are being bullied at work.

“We have to put up with a lot of bullying and oppression and it is hard to stand up against such abuse as our industry small” a Generations actor was quoted as saying in Drum magazine.

Programme producers are not all innocent.

Often the not, we read about actors fired from soap operas because they are “hard to work with”, “causing a stir on set”, “come on set unprepared”, “and disrespecting the producers” or whatever the reason may be. But why don’t we take a break, explore the other angle and expose the ill-treatment our actors experience in their workplaces?

Our actors are underpaid to begin with. The conditions they work under is extremely appalling. Simply put, they are being exploited and every time our actors stand up for their rights, the media is quick to delegitimize their actions and brand them bad people while the producers’ not-so-innocent-images remain intact.

Following news of Mawande’s exit from Generations, fans replied to A re di fefere’s “Mawande fired: Diva tendencies cost her the job” post:

Yvonne: Eish Generations will be boring without Wandie. We need her back. Give her second chance.

Tt: She is a good actor mara- her role will be missed a lot.

Amanda: Can you guys tell Mfundi that he is losing viewers because of his stubbornness…

Lunga: Second chance won’t kill… We (are) so in love with her shame. Generations won’t be the same without her again.

Lehlohonolo: Ur going to loose (sic) viewers I bet u on that one.

Makuxolwe Njaba: That’s great she was boring

Thabang Mothobi: But to be honest she is really a good actor.

It is still not known for how long Mawande will be back on Generations. But I doubt her detractors in Generations are ecstatic about her return.

Tilo ngwana Rashaka applauds Mfundi:

Bringing Mawande back is a good start and I will be waiting for that day when Mfundi puts a positive spin to Scott’s death and bring him back to life. (Lithuli Dlamini, the person who played Scott in the soapie claims that he was fired for being sick and he’s definitely not happy about it, he told the media). Generations’ first defied the odds with Tau’s death, Muvhango then followed suit with KK’s death and ‘Mukondeleli’s’. It seems your acting skills need to carry a lot of weight for one to be resurrected from death.

Picture: The new Age online

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25 responses

mfundi is just a diva himself! i mean come on, Scott’s death came so sudden i thought the actor himself was late. i have no doubt that mfundi is the one who is ‘difficult to work with!’ But I’m happy Nambitha is returning to the soapie though

i love mawande and i think she deservs better phela generation its so boring so better they treat mawande good or go down for good.oh priska please dont abuse christy sbuda finds out its over girl.
bring wandie back to rock up

Welcome back Mawande,We love you !Please cancel Mr S engagement and drive hes sit please .Priska change ur style at work cause queen will cut you off if she wants to .WE LOVE YOU ALL ACTORS MWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

I live in America and just started watching Generations via another site. It’s hard to understand sometimes but the captions help out. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!

You all are so lucky! The soaps here used to be as good as Generations but not anymore. This show reminds me of a show here called The Young and the Restless, with all the business stories and action, adventure, romance. I love it.

Mawande (I don’t know her real name) is a brilliant actress. I was watching episodes from early 2013 and had no idea she’d been written off the show. That’s shocking. But I’m glad she’s back now.

I have to say, I like the storyline, but Akhona is kind of annoying to me. I don’t know what it is and I don’t know much about the character but she keeps putting herself in dangerous situations. She’s so stubborn!